


Something to Hold Onto

by Trixie Ray (Trixie_Ray)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anger Management, Awesome James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Awesome Maria Hill, BAMF Women, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce abandoned everyone; his team - especially Natasha, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Clint Barton is a joker, Darcy Lewis's Taser, Darcy Lewis’ iPod, Domestic Avengers, Extremis Pepper Potts, F/F, F/M, I don’t know where Vision is, Jane Foster Loves Science, Jarvis’ organizational skills, Karaoke, Maria Hill would rather not deal with Congress, Multi, Natasha Romanoff is a tease, Natasha Romanov Feels, Nick Fury Knows All, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Scientist Wrangler Darcy Lewis, Steve Needs a Hug, Steve is just like Jon Snow, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Teleknetic Wanda Maximoff, Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor is Adorable, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark hates Senator Stern, adorkable Avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-05-20 08:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5997994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trixie_Ray/pseuds/Trixie%20Ray
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony sees Steve listening to one of his old vinyls and catches on to the nostalgia the soldier is drowning himself into.</p><p>Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.</p><p>Each chapter has a different song.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cheek to Cheek, 1935

**Author's Note:**

> So, the idea I had one day was to make a playlist that the Avengers could probably do to show Steve what he had missed from the music world during the 70 years he spent on ice. In the beginning, it was supposed to contain a little bit of every genre, but I quickly diverted from this with the thought that the team would probably show Steve the songs that they liked – not necessarily showing all genres then.
> 
> This is set after Ultron but Pietro is very much alive, thank you! No Vision, though… but he should be getting the playlist later to listen as well. Bucky is there and the world is good. Civil War has no intention of happening because NO. Also, Clint is not married, because he lives at the tower and that would not be a cool thing to do to Laura. And time is a weird thing in this series of drabbles.
> 
> All is well and they are one fucking big family who love each other and sometimes have urges to kill one another, normal stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Tony Stark has a heart, Steve needs a hug, team as family, BAMF Pepper Potts, Sam Wilson is a gift, Rhodey is a good bro, Bucky Barnes remembers, Jarvis’ organizational skills, domestic Avengers.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

Tony was walking towards the kitchen, intent on grabbing coffee before going to his workshop when he heard a soft song coming from the library. He frowned as he grabbed his steaming cup, trying to figure who would be up at the late hour. He quickly figured out who when he heard who was singing.

“Steve.” Tony walked inside the room and briefly looked at the vinyl playing Fred Astaire but his attention diverted to the soldier on the couch. He was looking intently at one of his sketchbooks.

He did not acknowledge the genius directly, but moved over so that Tony could sit next to him – which the other did. Steve continue to slowly turn the pages of the sketchbook he drew on when he was in the army.

_“Heaven, I’m in Heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak and I seem to find the happiness I seek when we’re out together dancing, cheek to cheek.”_

Steve sharply inhaled the air when the song started and with shaky fingers, he turned another page. Tony was quiet the whole time, waiting patiently until the other man was ready to talk and taking in every reaction, however small.

_“Heaven, I’m in Heaven and the care that hang around me thro’ the week seems to vanish like a gambler’s lucky streak when we’re out together dancing, cheek to cheek.”_

“Aunt Peggy.” Tony’s voice was barely a whisper as he saw the drawing Steve had made during one of the many days he had been in Europe.

Steve finally lifted his eyes and let out a quiet breath, steading himself in reality.

“I didn’t know that you knew her.” He let Tony take the sketchbook to inspection the drawing closer. “But it makes sense that you do, she and Howard were very good friends. They liked to fondue together." He added the last part as an afterthought.

Tony’s face of disgust was comical. “You make it sound like sex.”

His confusion only made Steve finally laugh at the memory.

_“Dance with me, I want my arm about you. The charm about you will carry me thro’ to Heaven. I’m in Heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak and I seem to find the happiness I seek when we’re out together dancing, cheek to cheek.”_

Tony lost Steve for a few seconds as the memories brought him back to the past along with the song playing. When he saw a tear roll down his friend’s face, he lost it and hugged the man. He let out a breath when Steve hugged him back, clearly back to reality.

After a while, when the album stopped playing and Steve pushed away the sketchbook, Tony spoke again.

“I’m calling for an assemble.”

“Tony, it’s four-thirty in the morning.” Steve scoffed, knowing that nothing would stop the genius. He just hoped no one tried to kill him for waking them up at such an ungodly hour.

Tony made Jarvis sound the group assemble alarm – which was different from the one they heard when there was an attack somewhere – and Steve followed him into the living room to wait for the others.

It took five minutes for everybody to arrive, since the tower was completely full that day. Natasha, Clint and Bucky were the first to arrive, as usual. Later came Sam, Rhodey and Pepper and they were quickly followed by Thor, Jane, Darcy and Wanda. Maria Hill and Pietro arrived together – which no one found strange at the time.

“Go on, Stark. You called us for this and I would like to go back to sleep.” Natasha waved her hand for Tony to begin.

“We need to create Steve a playlist with the songs that he missed from when he was on ice.” Tony felt the soldier shudder next to him and place a steadying hand on his shoulder, to keep him in the present. “I’m not talking about telling him to listen to a bunch of albums, that’s not doable considering the large amount we would be presenting him.”

Rhodey cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something but quickly gave up when he noticed how haunted Steve looked. Tony had not woken the whole team up to talk about collaborating on a playlist; he did that to show Steve that he was not alone. The colonel ended up smiling at his best friend.

“We can do that.” Sam nodded in approval and the group nodded along.

Bucky got up from the couch and pulled Steve from his sitting place, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling his friend to the bedroom. “Come on, punk, let’s sleep.”

Just when they were getting out of reach, they heard Bucky say that ‘he had his back until the end of the line’ and heard Steve calling him a jerk amidst laughter.

Pepper got on her toes and kissed Tony’s forehead, later she hooked her arms with him and pulled him to the bedroom with her as well.

The rest of the group quickly moved to their own chambers to fall back asleep, and since they were all feeling so sleep deprived, no one noticed that Pietro had grabbed Hill’s hand and intertwined their fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Cheek to Cheek, by Fred Astaire. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOYzFKizikU)


	2. Oceans, 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the one time when Steve saw Natasha actually cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: team as family, Natasha Romanov feels, Jarvis’ organizational skills, Bruce abandoned Natasha, Bruce abandoned everyone, Bruce abandoned his team, nightmares, PTSD.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

Steve had woken up from a nightmare, his chest heaving and sweat damping his skin. He slowly shook his head to clear the confusion and sat on the edge of the bed. He had been having nightmares ever since he woke up from the ice. PTSD was a bitch and he made a mental note to talk to Sam in the morning, since it was only three thirty in the morning.

He slowly rolled his shoulders back and got up, the desire to sleep had long died due to the memories he had been forced to relieve when he slept that night. He walked around the tower and quickly filled a bottle with water when he passed the kitchen. He continued his walk and grimaced when he saw Tony on his lab, a cup of steaming coffee on his hands; the genius did not even seem to realize there was someone staring at him, his gaze was fixed on a hologram. Tony kept talking in a rush to Jarvis, needing the AI to sort his thoughts as he exposed them.

Steve shook his head and continued walking towards the gym, wanting to punch something to scare away his own thoughts. He had been musing if Tony had finished working on the new punching bags for him when he stopped short, looking up at the closed gym door.

_“I wish I was worth… but I know what you deserve. You know I’d rather drown than to go on without you but you’re pulling me down.”_

He frowned because he could not figure out which resident of the tower could possibly be listening to that song, especially inside the gym, at three-forty in the morning. He stopped for a second, considering if he should just turn and leave the person inside alone when Jarvis’ voice spoke to him.

“The door is unlocked, sir.” Jarvis voice was quiet and calm and it gave Steve the courage he needed to go inside the room.

He felt as if someone had punched him, because the air left his lungs when he saw Natasha dancing, of all things. It was beautiful and he slowly closed the door behind him.

She had her eyes open, but she seemed to be so focused that she did not notice that he was there with her. She just kept dancing, doing pliés and pointés and other moves that Steve did not know the name of. He was mesmerized with how fluid her movements were.

_“It feels like there’s oceans, between me and you once again. We hide our emotions under the surface and try to pretend. But it feels like there’s oceans between you and me.”_

The song playing brought Steve back to reality and he realized the song was on repeat. It was such a sad tune and the vocals were so raw – it made Steve feel vulnerable and consider how vulnerable was Nat feeling in that moment to be dancing ballet and being so out of it.

He looked down and noticed a crumbled piece of paper near his feet. He picked it up and could not help but read the only two words that marked the white paper with blue ink. _I’m sorry_.

Steve abruptly looked up when the song stopped and came face to face with Natasha. Her shoulders were trembling slightly and he realized that Natasha was softly crying. Intuition hit him as he realized that the letter had been from Banner – whom had run away a couple months back right after they stopped Ultron. He had yet to contact another team member.

“Nat, come here.” His words barely left his mouth as Natasha pushed herself against him, soaking in his heat and needing the comfort.

She must have signaled for Jarvis to continue the song because the next thing Steve heard was the rawness of the vocal that expressed Natasha’s feelings in the moment.

_“And nothing comes close… to the way that I need you. I wish I can feel your skin and I want you, from somewhere within.”_

“I’ve got you, Nat.” He placed his hand around her smaller body, tightly and gently rocking her as he felt her body shake with repressed sobs. “You can let go.”

And she did just that. And Steve could not repress the distrust he felt for Bruce in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Oceans, by Seafret - 2015. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqsL0QQaSP4)
> 
> I literally woke up with this song in my mind, and it reminded me when I was in a bad place and had listened to it. The vocal and the instruments are so powerful, it makes me feel vulnerable and I wanted to show a different side of Nat because she is comfortable Steve to do that.


	3. Still Loving You, 1984

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the one time Tony let everyone see he had a heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Tony Stark has a heart, team as family, awesome Maria Hill, Nick Fury knows all, Phil Coulson has the patience of a saint, adorable Bruce Banner, Thor is not stupid, BAMF Pepper Potts, Jane Foster loves science, Sam Wilson is a gift, Maximoff twin feels, Rhodey is a good bro, Awesome Darcy Lewis, karaoke, Jarvis’ organizational skills, domestic Avengers.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“Tony, you do realize that Pepper is insanely mad at you, right?” Steve raised his eyes at his best friend, his expression was half amused and half concerned, as it was obvious that Tony had a plan to get Pepper back.

“Cap, I am not deaf, I heard her shouting that she didn’t want to see me. Plus, I do have a memory; I was there when she said she wanted to break up.” Tony huffed, impatient. “That is not the point. The point is that I need Pepper back and I need your help with my plan.”

“Oh, Tones, what are you up to?” Rhodey stepped into the room, handing Tony a tall cup of coffee and having a seat next to Steve. When Tony had both men’s undivided attention, he spoke.

“Today is karaoke night, as you well know.” They had thematic nights at the tower, and today was one of them. “And Steve, I need you to convince Pepper to go.”

“Why me?” Steve frowned, thinking of the wrath of the CEO.

“Are you scared, Cap?” Rhodey laughed as he recognized the fear inside Steve’s eyes.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Steve retorted, effectively shutting up the laughter. He directed his gaze to Tony. “Why don’t you ask Bruce or Rhodey? They’re closer to Pepper.”

“Yeah, and then she’ll know immediately that I am up to something.” Stark looked at him as if he was dumb. “Look, Pep trusts you too much.” He shrugged. “She would never think you are part of my plan.”

“Well, thank you in advance for making me break her trust.”

Tony smiled; he did not smirk and left behind both of his friends.

Steve moved on with his tasks until night fell and he got ready for the gathering. Stark being Stark had set up a whole room specifically for karaoke nights, and had it decorated like a nice karaoke lounge would be decorated.

He smiled when Pepper arrived and let out his breath when he realized Tony had not arrived yet. At least she would not kill him right away.

The party was in full mode when the billionaire arrived.

“Thank you for gracing us with your appearance, Stark.” Clint mocked and bowed, barely pausing as he selected the next song.

Tony never one to fall behind, simply courted and answered that the archer was welcome. He looked around the room and saw that Steve, Bucky, Sam and Rhodey were by the bar, laughing at something Darcy and Natasha were saying while Thor, Jane, Bruce and Wanda were discussing something, science/magic probably. Maria Hill was up the stage with Pietro, singing a cheesy song. Pepper had her back to him while she talked to Coulson and Fury – the three seeming very relaxed and even laughing together, which was just weird because Fury did not have a good time, ever. His secrets had secrets after all.

Shaking his head, he focused and was at the stage as the song ended. Not giving anyone time to protest, Jarvis started the song he had previously picked.

“Traitor.” Tony heard Clint mutter to Jarvis and could not help but smiling with affection at the archer.

Even though nobody had time to protest, they all noticed that Stark was completely sober – which was very weird, because he _never_ sang during karaoke nights before draining a bunch of whiskey.

“Cap, this is for your playlist, but Pep, this performance is entirely for you.” He spoke with such a serious tone of voice that Pepper could not take her eyes off him. He was up to something; she just had to figure out if it was something good or not.

The lights in the room diminished and Tony started singing Still Loving You by Scorpions.

“I’ll fight, babe, I’ll fight to win back your love again. I will be there, I will be there. Love, only love can break down the wall someday. I will be there, I will be there.”

Everybody shuddered at the intensity that was Tony at that moment. They had all known that he had been suffering with the breakup, two months prior. However, what no one realized was the actual depth of the pain, and now they felt it in the way he spoke the words that were already so full of meaning.

“If we’d go again, all the way from the start, I would try to change the things that killed our love.” He briefly winced at those words, not wanting the song to fit that much with their relationship. “Your pride has built a wall, so strong that I can’t get through. Is there really no chance? To start once again? I’m loving you.”

Rhodey had his mouth open as he stared at his best friend up in the stage, gripping the microphone as if afraid of what would happen if he let it go. He looked over to the side and saw that Steve was just as shocked as he was but Sam was only smiling softly and nodding his head approvingly.

“Go Tony!” Jane yelled in encouragement to her friend, because even though he was Tony Stark, he must have been feeling pretty scared at that moment. She smiled when Thor snuggled her closer to his body – clearly affected by the performance, as was everybody at the room.

Wanda had went to Pietro’s side and he immediately gave her comfort, as if she had memories related to that song – which may not have been impossible as well.

“Try, baby try! To trust in my love again, I will be there, I will be there. Love, our love, just shouldn’t be thrown away, I will be there, I will be there.”

Tony Stark did not do emotions and yet, there he was, exposing how he felt inside to all of the team just to try to win back the love of his life.

“If we’d go again, all the way from the start, I would try to change the things that killed our love. Yes, I’ve hurt your pride, and I know what you’ve been through.” His voice cracked with the emotion he could barely contain, but he kept going. “You should give me a chance… this can’t be the end.” He choked. “I’m still loving you!”

He did not break eye contact with Pepper until the last part. Darcy by that time was already singing along in true Darcy fashion and totally supporting him.

Pepper went up the stage and hugged Tony, feeling his tears soak through her blouse and letting her tears soak his shirt. She held him tightly, having missed the contact and the genius. The moment was cut when she felt his hands on her waist, gently separating himself from her.

She looked at him and gasped when he started to kneel. Actually, at that moment several people gasped. Fury would deny everything later, but he did gasp.

Tony took a little box from his pocket and presented it to her, an engagement ring inside. She pulled him up and kissed him.

“Aww!” Darcy threw herself at Thor and hugged him tightly. “Thor, you have to do that with Jane! We just need to modify some parts but I can totally help you!” The god let out an emotional laugh that could rival a thunder and affectionately hugged the woman he considered a little sister.

“What do you say? Let’s get hitched?” Tony asked as soon as they stopped kissing. And then instead of getting an answer he got a slap to the face. But Pepper did take the ring and put it on her finger.

Steve, Rodhey and Bruce did very good impressions of a facepalm.

“Minus that part, big guy.” Darcy said to the god while shaking her head. “Minus that part.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Still Loving You, by Scorpions - 1984. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRas1yOWvo)
> 
> Tony is just ♥.


	4. Come On Eileen - 1982

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time Darcy and Jane danced in front of everybody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: team as family, Jane Foster loves science, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Sam Wilson is a gift, Darcy Lewis’ iPod, Jarvis’ organizational skills, domestic Avengers.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

According to the calendar, it was the women’s day to cook. Yes, they indeed have a calendar because when you lived in a tower with thirteen people – and sometimes four more would make random appearances – they had to have a calendar of who did what regarding chores.

Pepper and Jane were in charge of the salad – majorly because Jane did not know how to cook and needed supervision to even make a salad. Natasha was making stroganoff, which Natasha insisted on calling бефстроганов (or befstróganov) and which made no difference at all, as it was still a beef stroganoff. Wanda was making buttery potatoes with garlic and fresh herbs and an absurd amount of lamb dumplings – because they ate a lot.

Darcy was in charge of the dessert and she started making her infamous recipe of croissants filled with Nutella and topped with a special chocolate sauce. She made the sauce herself and always added something that none of the other avengers could quite figure out. Pietro joked it was love.

They were all talking and laughing as they cooked until Darcy went all silent and realized what was weird. The men had gathered around in the living room and Bruce had control of the stereo, even from the kitchen she could see his iPod sitting on the dock. She loved Bruce’s iPod, she really did. He had the best songs for meditation and yoga but she needed something with a bit more energy.

She turned off the stove and put the pan with the chocolate sauce on top of the counter, now she just had to wait until they actually started to eat to put the croissants in the oven and they would be ready by the time they finished eating.

She turned and walked out of the kitchen with the spoon she had been using to stir the chocolate and moved with purpose towards the iPod dock.

They all heard a screeching sound as she unplugged Bruce’s iPod. Jarvis had provided the sound, and it was made to sound as a needle scratching a vinyl, Tony thought it would be funny and so did Darcy – but that generally got everyone’s attention. This time it was no different.

“Sorry, Dr. B.” Darcy shouted over her shoulder as she struggled to change Bruce’s iPod with hers without dropping the wooden spoon that had chocolate at the top. She would not drop the spoon, that chocolate was hers.

She scrolled down to shuffle and when the music started, she let out a little shriek, attracting everyone’s attention yet again as they tried to figure out what was wrong this time.

“Jane!” There was another shriek as the scientist appeared running from the kitchen and started dancing with Darcy. Judging by how Pepper did not complain and the clean salad grabber she had in her hand, everybody assumed she was indeed not doing anything in the kitchen. Both women were actively ignoring everybody else in the room as they started a performance that they had perfected in New Mexico – they had reached a lot of dead ends before meeting Thor.

“Poor old Johnnie Ray, sounded sad upon the radio but he moved a million hearts in mono! Our mothers cried, sang along, who’d blame them?” Jane began singing into the salad grabber, looking at Darcy the whole time and smiling.

“You’ve grown, so grown! Now I must say more than ever, come on Eileen! Too-ra-too-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye! And we can sing just like our fathers!” Darcy’s voice was light as she sang, also looking at Jane and using her chocolate covered spoon as a microphone.

They got close to each other and started moving their hips, singing the next verse together and leaving everybody stunned.

“Come on Eileen, oh I swear what he means, at this moment you mean everything! You in that dress, my thoughts I confess, verge on dirty, oh come on Eileen!” They both got so close that their boobs were touching, judging by how completely at comfort they looked, the group quickly figure out that once before it had turned into more than that. Maybe more than once.

Thor and Clint handed Tony fifty dollars each, regarding a previous bet they had made. Tony winning because he bet those two had been intimate before Thor appeared in the scene.

Darcy turned around and pointed at the group, holding tightly to her spoon as she began singing the next verse with a level of drama that could rival Tony on his best days.

“These people round here wear beaten down eyes sunk in smoke-dried faces! They’re so resigned to what their fate is. But not us!” She abruptly turned to Jane who completed with a ‘no never’ and a rough shake of her head. “No, not us! We are far too young and clever, remember? Too-ra-too-ra, too-ra-loo-rye, aye and you’ll hum this tune forever!”

Darcy started jumping and Jane grounded her with her singing and her hands around her hips. Sam and Pietro did a catcall as he saw her hands teasingly trying to lift Darcy’s shirt.

“Come on Eileen, oh I swear what he means, ahh come on let’s take off everything. That pretty red dress, Eileen, ahh come on let’s. Ahh, come on Eileen.”

The song slowed down the tempo and everybody in the room clapped along with the fast turning rhythm.

“Come on Eileen, too-loo-rye-aye.” Darcy snapped her fingers in time with the beat as she sang the phrase repeatedly and Jane continued with the rest of the vocals.

“Now you’re full grown, now you have shown, oh Eileen! Say, come on Eileen these things they are real and I know how you feel. Now I must say more than ever things round here have changed. I say too-ra-loo-ra, too-ra-loo-rye-aye!”

They sang the rest of the song together and when it finished they just giggled excitedly and hugged each other. When they came apart, Darcy offered Jane the spoon with chocolate and let the scientist lick the spoon with her.

This time Bucky, Bruce and Steve gave Natasha one hundred dollars each. They had bet that Darcy would never ever share her chocolate spoon with anyone, not even Jane. Natasha smirked at the win.

The two started going back to the kitchen as if nothing had happened but were stopped by Thor picking Jane up and Bucky sneaking an arm around Darcy, effectively bringing her closer to his body.

“Where the hell do you think you are going?” Tony threw his hands up in exasperation. “You too have a lot of stories to tell.”

The two of them sneaked out of their boyfriends’ grasp and went back to the kitchen, both sharing amused smiles and Wanda hit Stark in the head affectionately when the playboy started whining that he totally supported all kinds of love and wanted to hear about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Come On Eileen, by Dexys Midnight Runners - 1982. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ORHVdTxbg)
> 
> Never considered Darcy and Jane together, but after listening closely to the lyrics of this song I could not help but picture these two together having fun in New Mexico.


	5. Sugar - 2015

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when the Avengers go clubbing and Natasha ends up messing up with Steve and Sam, for old times’ sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: team as family, Natasha Romanov is a tease, Sam Wilson is a gift, Steve is just like Jon Snow, Jarvis’ organizational skills, science bros, Clint Barton is a joker, Thor is adorable.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“Tony, are you sure this is a good idea?” The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist looked up in time to catch his science bro looking skeptically at the door of the club.

“Of course this is a good idea, Brucey.” He threw his arm around his shoulder and gave a comfortable squeeze. “Besides, we’ll have our own VIP area; we don’t need to mingle if you don’t want to.”

Bruce seemed reassured now that he knew he would be separated from other people – of course they would, they were with Tony, after all – and he trusted Tony with his life to know that the genius would never endanger him or his control.

Steve smiled at the two scientists fondly and extended a hand to the inside of the car, effectively helping Natasha out – not that she needed him to do that, mind you, but his Ma would be proud.

Sam stepped on the other side of the Russian spy as they walked towards the entrance. Clint decided to walk behind them along with Thor and the assassin started throwing smiles around at the women ogling the group, ever the player.

They were led by the manager to the second floor where they had their own VIP balcony, that was separated from the other VIP areas by having different stairs to access it. They nodded appreciatively and migrated towards the bar.

Thor and Steve ordered neat whiskeys and the god was quick to spice them with his trusted Asgardian mead. Tony, Clint and Sam ordered whiskey on the rock for themselves and Bruce decided to start slow with a beer while Natasha ordered her vodka neat. The group cheered and once again, they ended up staring at Natasha whom had just shot back her vodka without as much as a wince.

“Really? After all this time, you still haven’t gotten used to seeing me do this?” She ordered a Patrón to the bartender and shrugged. “Honestly, I’m Russian.”

She downed her tequila and went down the stairs, clearly intent on going to the crowd that was partying beneath them.

The group scattered as Clint went down with Sam, as they wanted to have fun with a larger group and were not afraid of being recognized as Avengers. That left Tony, Bruce, Steve and Thor to talk and drink upstairs. Soon every single one of them was already tipsy.

“Cap!” Steve startled and looked at Tony wondering what his fuss was about. “Are you listening to us? I asked you if-” Tony cut off mid-sentence as Steve’s gaze moved away from him and he was able to pinpoint what was getting Steve’s attention so much. “No way! You are ogling Nat!”

Bruce looked apologetically as he dragged Tony from the floor back to his seat after the playboy had fallen with laughter. They had been keeping track of her all night when they saw her drinking, nevertheless they knew she would still be able to take care of herself should the need arise, but Steve was still taking that task to a whole new level.

“What’s so funny?” Sam arrived, sitting next to Steve on the big fluffy couch, watching as Tony tried to catch his breath. Just as he was about to answer, Clint entered the room followed by Natasha.

“Nothing!” Steve was quick to shout and Tony doubled over with laughter again. Thor looked amused and clapped the soldier on the back roughly.

That is when a song started playing, its musical notes calling out to whoever was not dancing to start moving.

_“She’s got cherry lips, angel eyes she knows exactly how to tantalize. She’s out to get you, danger by design, cold-blooded vixen she don’t compromise.”_

The group could not help but draw their attention to Natasha as she moved towards the bar to order a Dirty Martini. She seemed complete oblivious to all the attention she was getting but they all knew better. If they were not already so heavily intoxicated they would have realized that she was doing everything with the intent of messing around with their heads.

_“She’s something mystical in colored lights, so far from typical but take my advice, before you play with fire do think twice and if you get burned don’t be surprised.”_

She turned towards the group and took a small sip from her drink, noticing how they were completely focused on the way her tongue darted out of her mouth when she enticingly licked her lips. They were too drunk for their own good, she thought affectionately.

Their eyes were glued to her body and tracked all of her movements, so with the grace that only she possessed, she moved closer to them with the beat of the song and had to stop a grin when she noticed Tony fidgeting in his seat.

The group was startled as Natasha slowly made her way towards the two soldiers and gently moved her hips in accordance to the song.

Safe to say that she was dancing to seduce. Her whole night had been about that actually and it had started with her choice of clothing. She could tell that they had approved her choice of a black dress that hugged her body and ended right below her cheeks. The dress had a heart neckline and mesh covered her bust and attached to fabric that ran low around her neck. Her spiked pumps complimented her look and they were tall enough to make her stand 5’10’’ instead of her usual 5’3’’ height. She was tall enough to look Clint and Sam in the eye and Steve did not seem to be miles away from her anymore.

_“Sweet talking lady, love how you entice. Sugar with just the right amount of spice. Charming, alluring everyone’s desire. She’s out to get you, you can’t run, you can’t hide.”_

She smiled sweetly as she sat down on Steve’s lap and turned so that she could also interact with Sam. She grabbed the cocktail pick and they all realized she had three olives in there. She had planned it all perfectly.

Natasha leaned forward and offered Sam the cocktail pick and he took an olive. Next, she squirmed a bit more than entirely necessarily and turned her attention to Steve, doing the same offer. His eyes were hooded but he also accepted it.

_“She’s something mystical in colored lights, so far from typical but take my advice, before you play with fire do think twice and if you get burned well baby don’t you be surprised!”_

The singer’s raw vocals served as enough warning for them but many of them still gulped as they saw her resting one arm around Steve’s shoulder as she drained her Dirty Martini. With a playful and yet serious smile – which no one knew how she mastered it – she left the glass at the nearby table and pulled Sam into a heated kiss.

_“Got me lifted, drifted higher than the ceiling and ooh baby, that’s the ultimate feeling. You’ve got me lifted, feeling so gifted. Sugar, how’d you get so fly?”_

She parted the kiss only to kiss Steve roughly on the lips, which he returned with easy practice. Sam moved his hand lazily up her thigh and they actually heard Natasha purr as she separated herself from Steve’s mouth.

“Can we go home now?” She ignored how Tony spat his drink and how Thor had to gently slap Bruce in the back when he choked. Clint seemed to be the only one not completely overreacting there, but just barely.

Sam got up and helped her to her feet, allowing Steve to get up as well. Both men hugged her as they walked towards the exit and away from the group. There would be plenty of time for them to talk in the morning and explain the easy relationship, which was born in Washington, to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Sugar, by Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates – 2015. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvC_0foemLY)  
> (I’m in love with Francesco Yates, his amazing voice and his adorable hair ♥.)
> 
> Scarlett Johansson height in centimeters: 1,63m without heels and 1,79m with heels.  
> That is one tall pump, 16 cm guys!  
> [ Photo of Louboutin's Asteroid 160mm pumps. ](http://www.neimanmarcus.com/prod139030086/p.prod)  
> [ (Net-a-Porter used to sell them for only $1,595! #sarcasm) ](https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/178020/)  
> [ Photo of the dress. ](http://www.maykool.com/clubwear-mesh-splicing-sleeveless-little-black-dress-006249.html?SSAID=389818)


	6. Barton Hollow, 2011

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when Pepper was kidnapped and Tony put her in Steve’s care while he killed the people responsible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Extremis Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers is a good bro, team as family, Jarvis' organizational skills.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“Cap! Please-” Tony’ voice cracked and Steve worried at the seriousness of the situation, because Tony _never_ lost his shit like this when he was in battle mode.

When Steve had asked to stay at Tony’s Malibu house, he had been hoping for some quiet alone time. They had just finished a long clean up after raiding a Hydra facility who also employed Neo-Nazis who had been experimenting on people. No Avenger was unscarred after that and they all silently agreed in coping in their own way.

Natasha and Clint went off-grid, Thor went to Iceland to be with Jane while she tracked some data related to the Bifrost, Bucky whisked Darcy away from said country and took her to London for alone time with her. Wanda and Pietro had left to South America – God only knows what the twins were up to. Sam went to the Avengers training facility in Upstate New York to debrief for the team with Hill and Fury.

Bruce went to Nepal to do humanitarian work and the green in his eyes when he left his Stark phone before he left served as enough indication that he should not be bothered for _any_ reason as it could provoke a Hulk-out with the power to level Europe.

Tony had chosen to stay in New York and he was clearly intent on spending countless hours either working on his workshop or lab. His eyes promised days to be fueled with caffeine and sheer willpower to keep going – with a hint of mild insomnia.

Steve on the other hand wanted warmth, quietness and solitude, thus his choice to go to Tony’s Malibu hose.

It had been five days since the team had dispersed and Steve could feel himself beginning to feel nearly human again, until he received Tony’s frantic call saying that Pepper had been kidnapped during a meeting in Dubai and that he was bringing her to Steve’s care. That way he could go back and kill every single one of the bastards who had hurt her.

There was such a strain to his voice that it made Steve immediately reach for his shield and suit, telling Tony that he could get the jet ready and meet Tony and help killing every single one of her captors.

“Please-” Tony tried to start again. “I can do this by myself, and I already let Rhodey know – he’s in Africa right now. I just need to keep Pep safe. And she’ll be safe with you right now.” There was some static before Tony continued speaking. “I’m so worried about her, Cap. I need her to feel safe while I do this.”

Steve left his suit where it was and grabbed his shield, moving to the front door to wait for Tony to arrive.

“ETA is fifteen minutes.”

The captain had steeled himself to what to expect, as Tony had put him on edge for not giving details about what had happened, but nothing could have prepared him to what he was about to face.

He half expected Tony to arrive with Pepper on his arms – but that would have been illogical as she would freeze to death during the trip from Dubai. No, Tony arrived in his Iron Man suit and was surrounded by the Iron Legion Army suits. As Steve approached them, he saw that the suits were around a different suit in the middle, guarding it. Tony quickly left his suit and moved towards the middle one, reaching it a few seconds before Steve.

“Jarvis, open the suit.”

Steve’s reflexes kicked in when the suit opened and an unconscious Pepper fell forward.

“Shit.”

In his defense he hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but he could not help it after seeing Pep. She was always so collected and the woman in front of him looked like she had been through hell – which in all truth, she probably had. Her hair looked dirty and messy; her clothes looked like anything but Pepper’s clothes. Her shorts were too short and her top doubled as a sports bra.

As Tony gently picked her up, Steve could see that her arms had several needle marks and his mind was transported back to the facility used by the Neo-Nazis and his heart clenched because he knew Tony must have thought the same thing.

He followed Tony inside and quietly watched as Tony took her to the master bedroom and put her down on their bed. Pepper definitely looked small and fragile on the gigantic bed.

“What happened?” His voice was barely a whisper and for a second he thought that Tony had not heard him, but after a few seconds, he turned and walked outside the room and Steve followed.

“I think they were related to AIM, or at least they knew enough about it!” Tony gritted his teeth. “Remember how I said I had stabilized Extremis enough to remove it from Pep? Well, let’s just say that I lied.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and quietly waited for Tony to explain.

“Pepper and I talked and we agreed to let her have Extremis, but we also agreed not to tell anyone for her safety. That way, if she was in danger and we weren’t close she could at least defend herself.” His body shook as he took a deep breath. “I’m not sure about the details, but it all leads to the assumption that the group targeted her because she was the last person alive who had survived the Extremis experimentation. When she defended herself, the group realized she was still active and captured her. They had all the right equipment, Steve!”

The soldier put a steadying hand on the engineer’s soldier and squeezed it to show support without interrupting what Tony had to say.

“I found her strapped to a table with several needles pumping God knows what into her body! Her skin kept dangerously glowing orange and the look on her face-”

“Sir, the Colonel is on the War Machine suit and says he’ll arrive in forty-five minutes.”

Tony looked at Steve who nodded.

“J, put all the power on the propulsion system and get me there as soon as possible. Also figure out a power source for when I arrive.”

The last thing Steve heard before Tony left was Jarvis saying that the propulsion system was at 100% and that he informed Rhodey that Tony would arrive fifteen minutes after he did.

Steve thought the suits would leave with the Ironman suit, but they didn’t. Instead, they started flying around the house, joined by the sentinel suits from the house and half an hour later by the ones from the Tower in New York.

The captain set his shield next to his chair when he saw that Pepper was waking up.

“Pep.” He was almost holding her hand when her skin began to glow orange – signalizing that she was becoming conscious and was not yet aware of her surroundings. “You’re safe. Tony brought you to Malibu. You’re safe.”

It took a minute but then Pepper was fully present and she moved with an agility that Steve did not know she possessed. She dashed past him and ran through the house she knew so well. Steve ran after her and only caught sight of her red hair as she ran down the stairs that led to Tony’s workshop.

“Jarvis?” Steve asked breathless with fear, as he could not locate her.

“Ms. Potts is in the Extremis containment room that Sir designed if she ever felt that she could not control herself. Much like Dr. Banner’s Hulk room.”

“Is she in danger, Jarvis?” Steve asked as he located the door to the room and walked towards it.

“No, her anxiety levels are up, but she has acknowledged that she knows she is out of danger. I believe she is trying to protect you, Captain.”

Steve waited for Jarvis to open the door and walked into the room.

“Pep?”

“Don’t come in, Steve. I don’t want to hurt you, please.” Her voice was strained and she backed up to a far away corner of the room, distancing herself from Steve out of fear of hurting him. Her skin was still glowing orange as she began to sink to the ground, knees pressed closely to her chest and tears slowly leaving her eyes.

“You won’t hurt me, Pep.” Steve walked into the room and slowly approached her with cautious steps and hands raised. “I trust you.”

She began shaking her head and the tears left her eyes in a fast pace. She tried to merge with the wall behind her when Steve was near, afraid that she would burn him accidentally, but Steve was having none of that and pulled her into his arms anyway.

“Steve-” She sobbed as she held him close to her, quickly forgetting that she could hurt him and finding comfort in his arms. “I hurt T-Tony!”

The captain ran his hands up and down her back, ignoring how her hot skin felt uncomfortable underneath his fingers.

“I freaked out! I burned him, Steve.” Her words were slurred and broken from the tears and sobs.

“Pep, it’s not your fault and Tony knows this. He was so worried about you; I doubt he’s even concerned about that.” He kept running his hands up and down her back, as it seemed to be helping at least with her temperature. He was glad to see the glowing diminishing until completely disappearing. “You are going to be okay, Pep. Tony will be back in a few hours and you’re going to be okay.”

Her crying took a long time to diminish and didn’t completely stop, as every now and then a few tears escaped her eyes. What worried Steve was the way her body was shaking and how intense were her sobs.

The shock of what had happened was sinking in and Steve wanted nothing more than to slap her out of it and was about to speak again when he felt her pushing him away with one hand as she raised the other to her mouth. Steve helped her get up and she ran with shaky legs to the bathroom.

He held her hair as she threw up and held her after she was done, only then beginning to calm down. He lifted her up from the floor and smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest.

Steve stayed in the master suite’s bathroom when she asked not to be left alone as she showered. He dutifully guarded her from the evils of the world while Tony tried to stop said evils. He started filling the bathtub for her, adding lavender scented bath-salts and bubbles to help her relax and averted his eyes as she moved from under the shower to beneath the white foam.

He sat on the floor next to the tub and waited for her to put her thoughts in order. He was surprised when he heard her soft mutter.

“It’s not Alabama clay that gives my trembling hands away, please forgive me, Father. Ain’t going back to Barton Hollow, devil gonna follow me e’er I go. Won’t do me no good washing in the river, can’t no preacher man save my soul.”

Her words had a rhythm that he could not entirely place and her voice gave way to an accent that Steve hadn’t heard before. There was a southern drawl to her words and he frowned lightly.

“Pep?” His questioning tone asked many things.

That seemed to snap her attention to the present and she blushed faintly.

“It’s a song. It was playing in the car before the ambush.” She smiled sheepishly as she looked at Steve. “I kept repeating the words in my head in order to calm down, since they wanted to make me lose control of the Extremis. And now they’re stuck in my head.”

Steve smiled proudly at her self-control and relaxed, knowing that she would be all right.

“Jarvis? Can you play Barton Hollow?”

“Certainly, Ms. Potts.”

The AI started the song and Pepper finally began relaxing in the bathtub, softly singing along to the song that kept her mentally stable during her capture.

“Miles and miles in my bare feet, still can’t lay me down to sleep. If I die before I wake, I know the Lord my soul won’t take.”

“J? Add this to my playlist, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Barton Hollow, by The Civil Wars - 2011. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExAM8D7cfbI)


	7. Bread and Butter - 2011

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: BAMF Darcy Lewis; BAMF Wanda Maximoff, BAMF Maria Hill, BAMF Pepper Potts, anger management, Darcy Lewis’ taser, incidents happen, Jarvis' organizational skills.
> 
> Contents of the chapter were inspired by:  
> [ Riding Out the Day's Events, by GlynnisIsta8 ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2566190/chapters/5707304) and [ Three Weeks, Ten States, and One Million Reasons to Fall for You, by leftennant. ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4846088/chapters/11102069)
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“I’m starting to feel trapped with you guys.” Darcy puffed impatiently. “I love you to death and beyond, but I am done with the overprotectiveness. I understand where you are all coming from, but honestly, if I have to spend one more night stuck in here, I think I am going to go insane.”

The group was quiet for a couple of moments until Wanda broke the silence when she started clapping.

“Thank you! I told Pietro the same thing yesterday.”

After the Neo-Nazis mission and Pepper’s kidnapping, the Avengers had become rather protective of the women in their tight-knit group. As Darcy had said, they understood the behavior until it got annoying. There had been too much contact lately among them and they were all becoming restless without personal time alone.

“So yeah, I am going out tonight, whoever wants to come with me – to have fun, not to play bodyguard – can come with me. I am leaving at eleven sharp.”

With that, Darcy turned around and went to Jane’s lab to work. Come eleven p.m. sharp, Darcy met with Wanda, Maria and Pepper. They waved goodbye to Bucky, Steve, Tony, Pietro and Clint who had unamused expressions as they sat on the living room couch.

“Wait!” Steve shouted before they left. “Where are you guys going to?”

“Oh, you know. Crease.” Darcy answered, nonchalantly.

“Crease?” Bucky cocked his head to the side.

“Yeah, it has everything: lights, psychos, furbies, screaming babies in Mozart wigs, sunburnt drifters with soapsuds beards…” She paused, trying to keep from laughing. “It’s that thing when a hobo becomes a rich man, so they take the big bubble bath.”

Tony and Clint started laughing as soon as Darcy finished speaking; the looks on Steve, Bucky and Pietro’s face were priceless.

“Oh, God, Lewis! I knew you were one of mine!” Tony doubled with laughter.

“Getting tips from Stefon, Darce, really?” Clint wiped the tears leaving his eyes and moved to Bucky and Steve, putting a comforting hand on their shoulders while Tony clapped Pietro in the back.

“I knew I wouldn’t be wasting my joke with you two.” She blew a kiss to the assassin and the engineer and entered the elevator with the other women. When the doors closed, she explained. “It’s a Saturday Night Live joke.”

Happy took them to a club in the Upper East Side and they entered through the back door in order to avoid a commotion. They were directed to a V.I.P. lounge – because, honestly? the club manager obviously knew who Pepper was. The women hang out in that lounge but after a couple of drinks, they decided to mingle with the rest of the crowd.

Darcy was joking with Maria when she saw Pepper roll her eyes and pick up her phone, which was flashing Tony’s face in the shiny screen. After a few seconds, Darcy concluded that Tony lost patience and had Jarvis overwrite Pepper’s phone because a video screen flashed.

“Tony!” Pepper was not pleased with his attitude. “We’re going to have a serious talk about this when I get back.”

They glanced at the phone’s screen and noticed Pietro – behind Tony’s shoulder – mutter something they could not hear and hand Clint a dollar bill.

Wanda opened her mouth, probably to scold her brother and their betting problem, but she was interrupted by Darcy’s shriek when a new song started playing.

The humming of the singer and the bass notes were soon replaced by Darcy’s voice.

“Cap! I’ve been meaning to show you this singer!”

They could tell by her words that she was a little bit buzzed. Darcy being Darcy simply pulled Maria close to her as she started dancing.

_“She tastes like midnight, she tastes like wine. Gonna run my fingers, oh down your spine. Just like a bad dream, stay on my mind.”_

The men tried to avert their eyes as Pepper started scolding Tony and talking about privacy, but their gazes kept turning to Darcy and Maria. Steve heard Bucky and Pietro clearing their throats and he smiled sympathetically at them.

_“Oh, all the street lights may know your name. Out in the moonlight, don’t you feel no shame. Oh, don’t you worry, you little flame, baby, all the street lights, they know your name.”_

Steve swallowed, trying not to get too affected by the sexy lyrics. He noticed that Clint’s gaze was also intent on the but focused on Wanda. _Good for him!_ Maybe that was why he was the first to notice what was about to happen and growled in warning.

Darcy was dancing happily to the song she discovered during her time in London when she noticed the creep moving up behind Wanda and whispering the chorus in her ear with a creepy leer on his lips and completely ignoring how the woman was flinching away from him.

_“Gonna spread you like butter, give you all my bread. Don’t want no other girl in my bed. Gonna spread you like…”_

“Ew! Back off!” Darcy moved forward and pushed the guy away from Wanda. The twin’s eyes were glowing dangerously red and Maria was already moving with purpose towards the man.

“Don’t worry, _bitch_. I have enough for you too.” At that, the guy moved his hand so that it was touching the front of his pants. “I’m sure you can handle all of me.”

At that point, Pepper was almost regretting her decision to keep her phone up, showing the Avengers what was going on. She heard a loud noise and by briefly looking at the screen, she could tell that Bucky had just broken the coffee table after throwing a chair at it. Before anybody could make another move though, Darcy stepped on the leering guy’s foot and punched him hard in the nose, effectively knocking him backwards and breaking his foot in the process along with his nose.

“Remember _this_ the next time you think of assaulting someone!” Darcy punctuated the ‘this’ by pushing her trusted taser on the guy’s exposed lower belly – it was as close that she would be willing to go.

The security guards came and removed the man from the club. Wanda held Darcy close to her side, as if afraid that something might happen to her. Maria was ushering people out of their way, while covertly holding a gun by her side and Pepper was shouting to the men on the phone that they were going back. Happy took them back in a record time and the two groups met at the garage ten minutes later.

Shouts of worry were heard but Darcy quietened them all, saying that she could take care of herself and looked out for her friends. She held onto Bucky, not allowing him to hunt down the man and kill him.

“I couldn’t let Wanda expose herself.” She frowned and swayed her way to the elevator, effectively towing Bucky and Steve with her. “The idiot ruined my dancing! Let’s go up, I wanna finish the song.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Bread and Butter, by Hugo – 2011. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBr_VO8xJTA)


	8. Cherry Bomb - 1976

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when Maria spared with Natasha after a rather difficult talk with Congress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: BAMF Maria Hill, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Natasha is a good bro, Tony Stark is a good bro, Clint Barton is a joker, Tony Stark hates Senator Stern, Maria Hill would rather not deal with Congress, Jarvis’ organizational skills.
> 
>  
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“I think this will do now.” Tony got up and analyzed the treadmill for a few seconds, twisting the screwdriver on his right hand. “Yeah, I’m pretty confident, why don’t you give it a try?”

Just as Pietro was about to climb the treadmill, the doors to the gym were roughly opened. Natasha and Clint stopped their sparing, Steve steadied the punching bag he was using and Pietro stepped back next to Tony, who had effectively stopped his screwdriver.

They watched as Maria entered the room, walking briskly and looking very pissed off.

“Hill? What’s going on?” Steve started unwrapping his hands with a frown. “Maria?”

She roughly shook her head and moved with purpose towards Natasha.

“Jarvis, play Cherry Bomb.” She nodded to Natasha as the heavy notes started playing.

_“Can’t stay at home, can’t stay at school. Old folks say, ‘ya poor little fool’. Down the street, I’m the girl next door. I’m the fox you’ve been waiting for!”_

Clint stepped away and went to stay next to the other men as Natasha lounged herself at Hill, who managed herself quite well despite her high heels.

The two continued sparing as the song continued blasting the speakers. Natasha picked up a sparing baton and Clint stopped Steve when he took a step forward.

_“Stone age love and strange sounds too, come on baby let me get to you. Bad nights cause’n teenage blues, get down ladies you’ve got nothing to lose!”_

Maria quickly evaded Natasha’s attempt to move behind her and landed a solid kick to her stomach, making the Widow take a step back and Tony gasp.

Hill lounged herself at Natasha who angled her body down and was able to throw Hill over and moved so that she was on top of her.

_“Hey street boy, what’s your style? Your dead end dreams don’t make you smile. I’ll give ya something to live for, have ya, grab ya, til you’re sore!”_

The two rolled around for a few more moments until Natasha secured her legs around Maria’s body, cutting off her air supply with one arm around her neck.

Just as the song was about to end, Maria tapped the Russian’s arm and Natasha let go.

Pietro was the first to reach the two and he helped Maria up as Clint helped Natasha. Tony passed them bottles of water and Steve crossed his arms across his chest.

“What is going on?”

Maria handled her bottle to Pietro and tucked her shirt neatly back into her pants while she calmed her breathing.

Tony noted with an impressed tone of voice that she still looked impeccable.

“How did you manage to do that? You still have your shoes on! Both of them!”

“Tones, I already told you, you’re the only one of the group that loses your shoes when fighting, man.” Clint playfully hit Tony’s arm.

“What happened?” Natasha asked, completely composed again as well.

“Senator Stern is out of prison.” Hill did not beat around the bush, as this was not her style.

“What?” They heard the metal of the nearby weight holder caving underneath Steve’s hands. “How is he out? We exposed him. He’s Hydra!”

“I have no idea.” Maria seemed to be getting angry herself, once again. “I was giving my statement to those kindergarters at Congress¹ when he walked in, saying that he had been set up.” She clenched her hands by her side. “He threatened to sue and all of the other senators just took him back in. It should be breaking news by now.”

Tony already had a StarkPad on his hand and he was asking Jarvis to project the image as a hologram. They watched a video of an interview Stern had given outside the Congress building and they were surprised when they heard the sound of glass breaking. The video stopped playing. Natasha raised an eyebrow when she noticed how tight Tony’s grip was at the now broken tablet.

“I hadn’t reinforced this one yet.” Tony dismissively threw the tablet at a nearby table. “ _God_ , I fucking hate Stern. The guy is like a nightmare, Nat!” He looked with wide eyes at Natasha, as he remembered how Stern was friends with Hammer and the whole Ivan Venko fiasco.

She comfortingly put a steadying hand on his shoulder and considered the next steps.

“Cap, what do you want to do? I can talk to my contacts at the House and see that intel I can gather.”

“Do that, Romanov.” Steve frowned deeply. “Hill, talk to Coulson and find out what he knows about Stern, besides what was on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files. The priority here is to figure out who are his allies and if Hydra is resurfacing or if a new group is trying to take its place.”

They all nodded and the group began to scatter, leaving only Steve, Pietro and Maria behind.

“Are you better now?” Pietro’s voice was thick.

“No. I hate Stern and Congress with a passion. They always figure out ways to make my work harder.” She shook her head and forced herself to relax for a few seconds. She leaned against Pietro, who kissed her head. She noticed Steve’s apologetic smile at being caught and she grinned. “I bet you didn’t know Cherry Bomb, huh, Cap?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ Song: Cherry Bomb, by The Runways – 1976. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqEh8OBQfmY)  
>  ¹ Reference to a comment Hill made on an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode – Nothing Personal to be specific – S01E20 to be even more specific.


	9. The More I See You, 1966

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when Steve and Bruce talked about when the doctor left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Protective Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner has issues, scientist wrangler Darcy Lewis, Jarvis’ organizational skills.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)   
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

Steve quietly walked inside the lab, as he could see Bruce and Darcy were practicing meditation in one of the corners. He was early too his ‘appointment’, so he sat on one of the high chairs and pulled out his phone, intent on sending an email to Hill regarding some findings in Senator Stern's case.

Just as he hit the send button, Darcy appeared next to him and launched herself at his arms.

“It seems like weeks since I las saw you.” She smiled, pecked his cheek and ushered him away from her chair, claiming she had work to do.

“Thanks for waiting, Cap.” Bruce smiled his sad smile and gestured for Steve to sit at another chair. It was time for his bi-annual check-up. They had all agreed it was best as they did not know the effects of the serum and Steve did not exactly trust regular doctors with this matter.

“Oh, don’t worry, I was early and it gave me time to answer some emails.” He did not develop into the subject and Bruce did not ask.

There was an awkward silence surrounding them as the doctor gathered the material he needed.

“Jarvis, can you access my iPod and play Chris Montez’s The More I See You album?”

“Certainly, Dr. Banner.”

As the album started playing, both men started relaxing around each other. Steve noticed that Darcy was absentmindedly swinging to the song as she typed in her computer.

_“The more I see you, the more I want you. Somehow, this feeling just grows and grows. With every sigh I become more mad about you, more lost without you and so it goes.”_

“I had a feeling you would like Chris Montez. My mom had this album in long play.” He smiled sadly at the memory. “I like this song. And ‘Call Me’.”

Steve nodded, paying even more attention to the song playing but he got distracted when Bruce approached him with a needle to take the blood samples. He squared his jaw and his shoulders tensed up. Bruce obviously noticed this and put the needle down momentarily.

“I had some doubts, but I had noticed that you didn’t completely trusted me.” He said this matter-of-factly, like a scientist observing a variety and trying to figure out how it affected the equation.

“Trust is gained and can be broken, Banner.” Steve answered truthfully. He noticed Darcy putting her headphones as a way to give them privacy.

“This is because I left after Ultron.” Once again, Bruce stated, knowing that this was true.

Steve pursed his lips, clearly confirming the event that had been the tipping point.

_“Can you imagine how much I love you? The more I see you as years go by. I know the only one for me can only be you. My arms won’t free you and my heart won’t try.”_

Bruce sat heavily at a different chair and was quiet for a few moments. He had thought his conversation with Tony about the matter had been difficult, but as he was about to re-explain his actions, he realized it would not be easier.

“I didn’t know how to handle what Wanda made me see and what the Hulk did. I did not know how to accept and move past all of the wrong things in my life.”¹

“And now you do?” Steve crossed his arms across his chest, a defensive move that did not go unnoticed.

“I went to talk to Betty Ross.” His admission shocked Steve, as he knew Bruce generally avoided her at all costs. “It was unfair of me to disappear on her and it took a while to figure out our issues, but she helped me with some things.”

He waited for Steve to say something but gave up when he realized the other was not yet ready to speak.

“I know you think I endangered the team by suddenly disappearing and resurfacing, but I can assure you that I won’t Hulk out on anyone or something like that.”

“I am not concerned about that, Banner. I told you at the helicarrier when we first met that I didn’t care about what people thought about you and this never change. I agree with Tony when he says you’ve got more self control than you think you have.”

“But?” Bruce did not beat around the bush, as he knew there was more that the other was not saying.

“But I can’t ignore the fact that you left fully knowing who you would be hurting with your actions.” Steve pursed his lips again, displeased at his memories. “We were all left vulnerable after what Wanda made us see – some more than other. But you completely ignored all of that and selfishly went away. This is not how a team works.”

“I know.” He briefly let his head hang in shame. “And I will never know exactly what I did to Natasha and I’ll never forgive myself for it. I still haven’t brought myself to acknowledge this with her and even though she acts like everything is normal between us, I know we will never reach that level again.

“I could have dealt with this situation better, but I didn’t and there’d no going back now. But at the same time, I can’t bring myself to regret leaving, as it gave me a new perspective on things and how I dealt with the people in my life.

“I know how hard it is to win back someone’s trust and I hope that one day you will trust me completely again, Captain.”

Steve nodded thoughtfully and slowly unwrapped his arms, offering one for Bruce to draw the blood samples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: The More I See You, by Chris Montez - 1966.
> 
> ¹ On the deleted scenes of Avengers Age of Ultron, Bruce and Natasha are talking after he leaves the shower – when they are laying low at Clint’s farm. At the end of what feels like a very long talk, Bruce asks Natasha about the dead in their lives. Natasha tells him that they should forget them, to which Bruce roughly shakes his head and says that he would never forget them. This pisses Natasha off very badly, and she wraps up their talk.


	10. Neglekted, 1998

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when Natasha goes on a mission and Clint disagrees with her interrogation methods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Steve Rogers is a good bro, Bucky Barnes is a good bro, spyssassin dynamics, Jarvis’ organizational skills.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)   
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“Where is Clint?” Tony entered the kitchen and left a bunch of arrows on the table and moved to kiss Darcy on the cheek as she handled him a cup with fresh steaming coffee. “I finished working on the upgrades he asked me.”

Steve frowned at the weapons. “Tony, really? How many times do I have to tell you not to put the weapons on the table?”¹

Tony rolled his eyes but moved the arrows to a nearby counter. “Happy now, honey?”

Bucky arrived at the kitchen just as Steve was telling Tony to shut up, as it was too early for that. He pecked Darcy on the lips and grabbed a piece of bacon from her plate. “Why are Mom and Dad fighting?”

Wanda chuckled and Darcy answered playfully. “Same old domestic shit.”

“Language.” Both Steve and Tony spoke at the same time and Darcy could not help but laugh aloud.

“We need to separate you two.” Wanda smiled fondly at them. “Answering your previous question, I think Clint had a fight yesterday with Natasha. He said something about not liking the way that Nat had handled a mark that knew something about Senator Stern. I think he’s at the shooting range.”

“Well,” Steve began after a short pause. “That certainly explains why Nat was at the gym already.

“What happened?” Tony refilled his already empty cup with coffee.

“Shouldn’t you be slowing down on those?” He ignored when Tony showed him the finger. “I received an update from Nat around 2 A.M., but she only told me she got a name of a person related to him and wanted to confirm it before calling an assemble, which makes me already assume we’re not going to like what she’ll tell us.”

They all nodded grimly as they began to prepare themselves mentally for the days to come.

“Well, I’ll be better off; otherwise Jane will start to freak out over something not worth it.” She balanced two mugs of coffee and some candy in her arms as she prepared for another day at the labs. “Somebody should check on Clint and Nat.”

They often joked that Steve and Tony were Superhusbands and the parents of the group, but Darcy was definitely a mother hen.

Buck finished chewing an energy bar – as if he needed it – and got up from the table. “I’ll go spar with Nat.” So, maybe the energy bar had been a good decision after all.

“Right, do that, I’ll go talk to Clint.”

Steve left the kitchen with the arrows and proceeded on the way to the shooting range. The door was locked, as was standard when someone was using the room. He put his password and an alarm sounded inside the room, letting Clint know there was a newcomer.

“Hey, Cap.” The archer spoke without turning around and once again, Steve was impressed with his spy skills.

“Hey. Tony finished working on your new arrows.” He offered them to Clint and noticed his excited expression at the prospect of having new toys to play with.

“Awesome! I have been dying to try these ever since he updated my quiver and bow for them.” Steve went to the other side and quietly waited as Clint tinkered with the control of his bow and put the new arrows in the quiver.

“Uh, what’s so special about them?” Steve cocked his head to the side, intrigued by the archer-and-engineer’s collaboration.

He tapped a pattern on his bow and sent the first arrow flying and they watched it explode just as it touched the target. Clint tapped a different pattern and the second arrow sent out an electrical shock upon contact. The third pattern made the following arrow divide into shrapnel, which hit the targets next to the one it hit first.

“Watch this.” He smiled knowingly and adjusted his grip, tapping a sequence at a part of the bow slightly below the part he usually used.

The fourth arrow also divided into shrapnel but after it was done, it let out an electrical current, effective on not only the first target but also everywhere the shrapnel touched.

Steve was already staring mouth-open but before he could speak, Clint tapped a last pattern and let the fifth arrow fly. They watched in fascination, seeing how the arrow divided and how the shrapnel exploded upon contact.

Clint rested his bow and quiver at a nearby table and turned to the stunned Captain.

“Tony was a little bit reticent about letting the arrow turn into shrapnel, for obvious reasons, so we discussed about the range and limited it to eleven square feet², so I could use it with a group of enemies and not having to fear hitting another Avenger in battle.”

Steve nodded as he watched Dum-E roll into the shooting range and extinguishing the flames. Clint affectionately petted the bot on the head as it rolled away, having finished his job.

“The shock is also less powerful right now, so that I can test it.” Clint watched as Steve nodded once again and thought about the new weapon.

“That’s good. I mean, this is still on hold for emergency mission or battle use but I’m going to allow it for testing on a smaller mission.” Steve concluded, very serious, just like he always was when he was talking about Avengers business.

“Awesome, Cap, thanks.”

Steve was quiet for a couple seconds, thinking on how he should proceed to approach the inevitable conversation on why Clint and Natasha had been arguing. Luckily for Steve, Clint caught on his mood and gathered his bow and quiver and started moving out of the room.

“Come on, I need a drink for this.” He cracked a smile but it did not quite reach his eyes. They went to the lounging room and Clint made a bee-line to the bar after connecting his phone on the dock and putting some background music.

“It’s five P.M. somewhere?” Steve raised an eyebrow as he sat on a bar stool, watching Clint pour himself a healthy dose of bourbon, half-listening to the grunge band playing.

“Well, technically I haven’t slept yet, so it doesn’t count.” Clint snapped right back at him and this time really laughed.

He sat down on another stool and started nursing his drink. He let out a sigh and took a sip before he started talking.

“Nat sometimes has some unorthodox ways to get information from her marks. And we always end up disagreeing when she uses them.”

“What happened last night?” Steve kept his poker face on, going for a nonchalant attitude.

“She went to her informant, to get information about how Stern got out of prison and I insisted on going as her back-up. I got the chills when she described the guy and I’ve learned to trust my instincts when it comes to Nat and her solo missions.

“It started out well enough; we went to a private party with very rich people and well-known politicians. I had eyes from the roof on the other building and Nat was at the comms with me.” He took a long sip from his bourbon and for a moment, Steve was unsure if he was grimacing from the alcohol or the memories.

“Nat convinced her mark to go with her to another room and I lost visual contact of them. I could hear that she was trying to seduce the information out of him – she’s got the skills for that, but it didn’t ease my nerves, it actually freaked me out more.

“I told her that and specifically told her to go back to where I could see them, otherwise I would move in and crash the party but she told me to shut up – as discreetly as ever, might I add – and removed her comm. I was about to go inside when she came out of the building and said that we should come back to the Tower.”

“She removed her comm? That’s extremely risky, even for Nat!” Steve was obviously freaking out about the wrong part of the story, but Clint suspected he would catch on pretty fast. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘seduce the information out of him’?”

“It’s a left over trick from the Red Room, I guess. Some habits are hard to shake off and all that.” Clint raised an eyebrow and jerked his head to the side, knowing the Captain would be fast. He took another sip and leaned back against the bar top.

They were silent for another few moments, with both men lost with their thoughts, until the song changed and Clint stiffened almost unperceptively.

“You know what happened when I met Nat, right?” Clint looked straight ahead at the bottle-lined wall on the back of the bar. Steve nodded slowly, knowing he did not know all of the details.

_“I knew a girl, extraordinary, suggested something, unsanitary. As I asked her for a moment to consider her kind offer, she blew a kiss and said to me ‘I know, you want it so, I want it too, so see it through. Because when I do what I'm gonna do to you, make sure you remember my name’.”_

“You were sent to kill her but you made a different call.”

“After a very _peculiar_ fight where it came very close to one of us actually managing to kill the other, Nat realized that I was offering her a chance to leave the Red Room behind.” Clint grimaced and took another long sip. “Of course, later she came to me, to ‘show her gratitude’ as she put it and offered herself to me.”

Steve looked at Clint’s face and could not help but feel for the man in front of him. He looked haunted by the memory, his face contorted in a mixture of sadness and rage, and he immediately understood why Clint was so upset about what had happened.

“It could have gone very differently if another agent was sent to do that mission, Clint.” Steve grimaced thinking about the possibilities. “If it had been another agent, the chances were that he would either complete the mission by killing Nat or take on her offer.”

_“You know it's true, I want it too. I know you know, so make it so. Because when I do what I'm gonna do to you, you'll never ever, ever… Intoxicated by your aggression, I offer you my one possession. You can fuck my body, baby, but please, don't fuck my mind.”_

Clint nodded a little but was still unconvinced.

“You know Natasha better than I do, and we both know that she always considers her moves carefully when she is on a mission.” That statement made the archer roughly turn his head to the side to look at Steve, who quickly shot his hands up in the air. “I am not saying that I liked to hear that.”

They were quiet for a few seconds and all the while Clint was considering if it would be a good idea to get another bourbon or not.

“Believe me when I say that I don’t like the idea that she had to use her body in that way for the Red Room. And I like it even less that she would consider using it as an interrogation technique even today, but as much as I don’t like those things, I trust Nat’s judgement.”

“Yeah, I know you are right.” Clint sighed once again, but he still looked dejected.

“Now, what I really don’t like is the fact that she turned off the comms on you. We already have attitude from Tony, we don’t need it rubbing off on another person from the team as well.”

Clint out right laughed at Steve’s comment, apparently finding it very amusing.

“Don’t worry too much about it. It’s a thing we do when we have missions together.” He shrugged as he got up from his stool. “Why do you think Budapest went south for a moment?”

He laughed quizzically as Steve furrowed his brow.

“You do realized that we still have no idea about what happened in that mission, right?”

_“Get you high, girl, come with me… take a ride in search of ecstasy. I wanna roll, I wanna roll… I feel you now, I never knew you were so sad, I'll make it up to you, because I feel you now.”_

“Thanks for the talk, Cap.” Clint nodded slowly, going back to a much quieter demeanor. “I’m going to catch some shut-eye. I don’t want to attract bad juju, but I think the next days will be chaotic.”

Clint got his phone from the dock just as the last beats of the song played. Steve watched as he left the room, remaining on the stool for a while longer.

“Yeah, me too.” He whispered to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Neglekted, by The Afghan Whigs – 1998. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_3xS9CpfWA)
> 
> ¹ Disney's _Brave_ reference.  
>  ² Eleven square feet is roughly one square meter, in other words: a very, very small area... but can you honestly blame Tony for being cautious about shrapnel?


	11. Trouble Man, 1972

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when they play poker and Darcy wins, meaning they have to do what she asks them to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: adorkable Avengers, team as family, Natasha Romanov is a tease, science bros, Clint Barton is a joker, team bonding, Jarvis’ organizational skills.
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

“No way!” Clint shook his head with fervor. “I am not tattooing anything because I lost a poker game! You are crazy, Darce!”

“Oh, please! They would totally be temporary! I am not crazy enough to make you get actual tattoos, dude.” She rolled her eyes at the drama queen that he was impersonating.

“I know where you can get the tattoos.” Tony leaned forward and they chatted quietly, smiling softly at each other. They were too alike for their own good.

“What design are you planning on? That is what makes me feel unsettled, really.” Natasha had an eyebrow raised; the mocked fear was only half faked.

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we lived in a world where soulmates actually existed?” Every single person in the room turned to look at Darcy Lewis as if she had just grown a second head with the apparent change of subject. “Bear with me, okay? I have been reading some stuff on the internet…”

“Here we go… are you still reading fanfictions, Darcy?” Clint was exasperated but he also spoke in an affectionate tone.

“What are fanfictions?” Steve had never heard of that before, no one had told him to search about that.

“Fan work. Stories that fans write to change something in a story, movie, TV show, reality, anything really… or sometimes just continue the story as they wanted it to be continued.” Clint explained quickly to Steve and the rest of the people in the room that had puzzled faces. “Darcy used to read it a lot when she was in New Mexico.” He gave Jane a pointed look that indicated just how much time Darcy had used during the internship to do some reading.

Jane looked at Darcy as if she had been betrayed, thinking of all of those times when she needed help with the equipment and Darcy had said she was busy studying.

“Not cool, bro.” Darcy got up and punched Clint in the arm, pursing her lips, but relented when he blew her a kiss. “Sorry, Jane.”

“Is that what you are doing whenever I call you to bed and you say that you are reviewing reports?” Bucky was baffled. “I knew I should be suspicious, no one reviews a report with a constant smirk on the face.” The rest of the Avengers were also baffled, but because Bucky rarely discussed his intimate life with Darcy with the group.

Darcy shrugged, sheepishly.

“Can you all focus? There are A LOT of stories with this theme and it is so sweet. The ones I like best are when the characters have phrases as kind of a tattoo, and it is always the first thing the soulmates say to each other the first time they meet. It is rather adorable to read and solve the mystery of figuring out who is the soulmate of who.

“But I also like the ones where they also have platonic soulmates – kind of like you science bros over there.” She made a motion that encompassed Tony and Bruce as well as Tony and Jane. “It’s magical because it shows such great bonding between people.

“I mean, it would be infinitely cooler if there really was such a thing in real life, but I take what I can get. Besides, my fangirl heart cannot take it anymore, we are doing this, I won you all in poker and this is what I want.”

She knelt in front of one of the couches and reached underneath the cushions, bringing out a stack of paper and multiple pens.

“You had this all planned, didn’t you?” Sam laughed hard. “You little minx, you were the one who suggested that the winner could ask for whatever they wanted!”

Darcy’s grin was mischievous and Thor joined in the laughter.

“Alright, each of you grab paper and a pen. I need you to write the first sentence you said to each person of the group. Think very hard because I want this to be as accurate as possible! And please indicate the person’s name underneath the phrase.”

“You are crazier than I thought you were, Darce.” Nat said as she leaned over the couch to get closer to the scientist wrangler. “But you still are adorkable.”

Darcy let out a complain noise as Natasha ruffled her hair.

“You guys should be glad that I still haven’t figured out the whole alpha/beta/omega dynamics, otherwise we would be roleplaying that.” Darcy smirked at the group.

Tony, Jane and Bruce seemed to catch on to what that entailed and had shocked expressions, which made Natasha smirk in an evil way – probably thinking about a plan to mess with the group at another occasion.

Darcy was practically jumping in her seat as she saw everybody doing as she had requested.

“Jarvis, can you put up some songs while we’re at it?”

“Certainly, Miss Lewis, what would you like to hear?” Jarvis was polite and efficient as always.

“Trouble Man soundtrack, J. I’ve heard that it’s on Steve’s list of albums to listen to.” She smiled at Steve and Sam affectionately as she leaned into Bucky. “Sam, what’s your favorite song from the album?”

“Trouble Man, obvs, Darce.” Sam laughed as she laughed. “But technically I already showed it to Steve.”

“Well, technically I was at the hospital at the time in and out of consciousness, so I guess it doesn’t really count, right?” Steve scribbled as he spoke, thinking hard to do as Darcy had requested.

_“I come up hard, baby, but now I’m cool. I didn’t make it, sugar, playin’ by the rules. I come up hard, baby, but now I’m fine. I’m checkin’ trouble, sugar, movin’ down the line.”_

“Wait a minute. Where are the twins anyway? I haven’t seen them ever since breakfast the day Clint and Natasha came back from doing that recon…” Darcy asked swaying lightly against Bucky – which was making it difficult for him to write his lines, but he did not complain.

“They went to check on the information I got that day. They should be back tomorrow though.” Natasha answered. She did not include any other person on the team on the information she found out, just the twins and they left to check on what she wanted right after.

“It took you long enough to notice that they were not here, they left almost four days ago, Darce.” Clint snorted as he furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating on his writing.

“Yeah, well, you may not have noticed but Jane, Bruce _and_ Tony had breakthroughs these past days. I think today is literally the first time that I have left the labs to do something other than taking a shower and changing clothes. Thor literally had to jump in and get us food because I wasn’t even able to do that.”

“Slacking on the job, Darce? Are you sure you weren’t reading fanfiction?” Clint smirked at the paper ball she threw in the direction of his head.

“Ha-ha, very funny, bird brain.” Tony snorted at that, he was rubbing off on Darcy.

“I’m sorry, Darcy.” Jane looked slightly embarrassed at her best friend, only now noticing the dark circles under Darcy’s eyes. “I keep forgetting you are not only at my lab nowadays.”

_“I come up hard, I come up, getting’ down. There’s only three things that’s for sho: taxes, death and trouble, h’oh. This I know, man, this I know, sugar. Girl, ain’t gon’ let it sweat me, baby.”_

“Is it weird that this song totally fits you guys on some level?” Everybody stopped writing for a second and looked at Darcy, contemplating the lyrics of the song. “Anyway, don’t worry Jane, I can handle a few days of pulling all-nighters. Plus, when I felt overwhelmed I stayed with Tony and we kept each other awake by throwing ideas around for a while.” Darcy stretched over the desk and high-fived the engineer.

“Am I getting this right?” Natasha asked with mockingly, already knowing the answer. “Between the three, Tony is the chilliest?”

“Red, you know I am.” Tony had his usual smugness and Pepper smacked him in the head, her position behind him giving her the perfect advantage. Tony looked mildly offended as he looked at Pepper. “Hey! Did you finish your phrases already?”

“No, I am busy with some SI things, Tony. Remember, your company?” Pepper smiled sweetly at him. “I will send you the phrases later, Darcy, I promise.”

“No worries, Pep, I know you will.” Darcy let out a yawn and let her head rest on Bucky’s shoulder. “And yes, Nat, Tony is the chilliest by far.” This made _Bruce_ snort.

“Well, at least you will have some time off.” Jane smiled sadly.

_“I know some places and I see some faces, I’ve got the connections, I dig my directions… what people say, that’s okay, they don’t bother me, oh yeah. I’m ready to make it, don’t care what the weather, don’t care ‘bout no trouble, got myself together. I feel the kind of protection that’s all around me.”_

“Time off?” Steve cocked his head to the side and looking between Darcy and Bucky.

“Yeah,” Darcy’s voice got a little bit cracked and she had to clear her throat before continuing. “My grandparent’s death anniversary is coming up in a few days and every year I drive to Maine to see their graves. It’s a tradition that I have by now.”

Sam put his pen down and put a hand on Darcy’s knee comfortingly.

“I had already mentioned to most of the group, forgot to tell you guys.” She looked at Steve, Sam and Natasha sheepishly. “I’m leaving tomorrow and will be back in a couple of weeks.”

“Are you going alone, Darcy?” Pepper had put the tablet she was working on down and spoke solemnly.

“Yeah, it’s something I need to do on my own.” She smiled sadly. “I’m going to drive up there, stay a few days in town and come back. I do some stops along the way, so it takes a while to arrive.”

“Hey, you never mentioned where in Maine you are going, doll.” Bucky nuzzled the top of her head and hugged her closer.

_“Woo, I come up hard but now I’ve cooled. I didn’t make it, baby, playin’ by the rules. Come up hard, baby, now I’m fine. I’ve checkin’ trouble, sugar. Hey, movin’ down the line.”_

“Oh, I’m from Bangor, that’s where I’m going.”

“As in Stephen King’s Derry?!” Tony could not stop laughing and Bruce and Pepper were starting to worry that he was going to run out of air or have a fit at some point or something. Sam was explaining the joke to Steve as Jane was explaining it to Thor.

“I told you he would love it.” Clint told Darcy with a smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s the one. It was lovely to grow up feeling scared.” Darcy let out another yawn.

“You should go to sleep, doll.” Bucky kissed her temple. “If you want to leave tomorrow morning then you have to get enough sleep, otherwise I will keep you on house arrest until you get sufficient rest.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes, but could not help but laugh at the sight of his smirk.

“But nobody finished writing their phrases yet.” She looked around the group and noticed that she was the only one finished – but that was just because she had been thinking about this for a long time.

“Don’t worry, Lewis.” Tony spoke, drying some tears that were still falling from his laughing fit. “They can give it to me and I’ll take care of it.”

Darcy’s smile made Pepper ruffle Tony’s hair.

Bucky steered Darcy in the correct direction to their room and they could all see that she was indeed very tired.

“Take one of the R8’s, Darce.” Tony shouted at her direction. “Jarvis can be your co-pilot then.” His mumbled sentence was not heard by Darcy, but every other person in the room could indeed hear it.

Steve straightened his leg to be able to kick Tony’s foot.

“You’re cute when you are all protective.” Steve smiled and got back to writing another phrase on his paper.

For a moment it looked like Tony was about to deny it, but he closed his mouth for a second and thought better of it.

“She will be safer with J.” He looked at his sheet of paper and sighed. “I’m worried about what Red found.”

“Let us hope I am not right.” Natasha sighed and leaned back on the couch, briefly closing her eyes and smiling softly as she felt Sam and Steve gravitating closer to her.

“Stark, why do you know a place that makes temporary tattoos anyway?” Clint cocked his head to the side.

“I know a lot of things, Barton.” Tony answered without missing a bit and discreetly looked at Jane, laughing with her at some untold joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [Trouble Man, by Marvin Gaye – 1972.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcDmatO5LfU)


	12. Summertime, 1936

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony being Tony calls in a meeting with the Avengers and the extended family to tell the amazing idea he had: create Steve a playlist of their favorite songs to help with his adaptation.  
> or  
> … the time when Fury’s bad week has nothing on Tony and Bucky’s bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags of the chapter: Tony Stark needs a hug, Bucky Barnes needs a hug, Jarvis’ organizational skills. 
> 
> [ Playlist available on Spotify with the songs of the chapters posted. Check it out and tune each song with your reading! ](https://open.spotify.com/user/tricemendes/playlist/1AeyPvW02zRW8jJ6DfxgCa)  
>  (If you're not interested in the playlist, you can still be able to tune in the individual song (YouTube) - the link is at the end notes.) 

Two weeks had passed by since their last group night. Darcy had left the morning after, like she said she would and hadn’t given news about her whereabouts ever since, but Jane said that was standard procedure for Darcy in times like these. It didn’t help that she hadn’t taken one of the R8’s, so Jarvis wasn’t with her and she knew how to keep a low profile when she wanted to.

Steve knew that tensions were high due to the fact that Tony had been explosive lately – and that wasn’t because he was exploding things inside his lab. The group was anxious about the secrecy that Nat and the twins were keeping. The siblings arrived roughly a week after Darcy had left and the group still had to hear what they had found out.

The Captain had been running at Central Park when he received the alert Jarvis sent when a meeting was scheduled. Barely seconds later he received another text from Tony, telling him they were gathering at the new S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

Five minutes later – and Steve was surprised it hadn’t been sooner – he received another text from Tony and started getting texts from other avengers as they arrived and found that Stark was too anxious for their liking.

Steve typed a quick reply to the latest text Tony had sent him and started walking a little bit faster. He did not like the fact that Tony seemed to be so stressed. Well… in a different way than usual, at least. And that had been happening ever since the day Hill told them that Senator Stern was out of prison.

As one of the team’s leaders, he set himself up to the job of finding out exactly why Tony disliked the politician and Fury was the one who provided him with more answers than he thought he would find. He had to frown at the things the Director had described as the start of a really bad week and he felt his shoulders tensing a little bit more at this.

_Well, get here faster. I want answers ASAP and I don’t want to stay here for more time than necessary._

Steve put his phone away and stepped in the elevator when the doors opened. For some reason music was playing and his memory took him to the time in Washington when Fury had first told him about Project Insight and like a weird déjà vu, Fury stepped into the elevator on the next floor.

“Captain.” Steve noticed that his shoulders seemed tenser than usual as well and this made the hair on his neck stand.

“Is this a weird déjà vu or did you plan this?” Steve allowed a small smile grace his lips, amused at the idea of a song playing at an elevator. He knew things didn’t just happen by coincidence with Fury.

_“One of these mornings you’re gonna rise up singing and you’ll spread your wings and you’ll take to the sky. But ‘til that morning, there ain’t nothing can harm you with daddy and mommy standing by.”¹_

Steve maintained the smile as he heard the lyrics of the song, enjoying the version that was obviously mixed instrumental parts with the vocalized version. He raised an eyebrow at Fury’s antics and let out a small laugh at seeing the Director’s amused expression.

“I could tell you I have no idea what you are talking about, Captain.” Fury looked back at the doors of the elevator. “But we both know that would be a lie.”

There was silence for a little while longer and Steve let himself enjoy the rhythm of the song. They walked side by side on a corridor, the song still playing on the background. As they were approaching the room where the rest of the group was waiting, Fury became serious again.

“Stark will not like this, Rogers.” Fury opened the door without giving time for the soldier to think thoroughly or letting him respond.

Steve looked at Tony’s eyes as soon as he entered the room.

_“Summertime and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and the cotton is high. Oh, your daddy’s rich and your ma is good-looking, so hush little baby, don’t you cry.”¹_

The song played its last beat as Fury sat down at one end of the table and Natasha started talking at his nod. They all knew this would be serious business as every single person involved with the Avengers Initiative was present – Tony, Steve, Bruce, Nat, Clint, Thor, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, Pietro, Bucky, Vision, Pepper, Coulson, Hill and Fury.

“I gathered some information from one of my contacts at the Senate.” She ignored Clint’s scoff. “He was one of the senators that were by Stern’s side. He told me he knew some talks were occurring on the inner circles that Stern had a somewhat powerful ally and that ally had made it possible for him to bail out of prison.”

“I’ve heard about this lately, but I still was not able to confirm who that person is. I did find out that Stern’s lawyers found a document that made his involvement with Hydra look somewhat disputable. With all of the information that was dumped on the internet, it is safe to say that not everything has been cracked and the judge on the case thought there was enough evidence that made the claim to keep him locked up void for the time being. He is still under surveillance and can be locked up again if more evidence rises against him, but because he was a Senator, they let him out.” Hill explained what she could find regarding the case.

“When Clint and I were coming back from gathering the intel, I started to think about something and I name wouldn’t leave my mind, and it’s safe to say that I know my instincts should not be easily disregarded.”

“Shit.” Nat glanced quickly at Tony and he could not help but tense up at what was to come. Part of him already knowing what she was about to say.

“I sent Wanda and Pietro to check on that, because they are not easily recognizable as Avengers and I believed that would help on the task.” She took a deep breath and the tension was palpable around the group because they could see how much it was bothering her. And Nat never showed how bothered she was when it came to missions. “They went to Seagate and talked both with Justin Hammer and Trevor Slattery.”

Nat had to stop because Tony got up and threw his chair back against a wall. The tension was high and they all knew they were going to be threading on thin ice for the future time; even if most of them did not know or recognize those names, just by Tony’s reaction they knew it was something personal.

“How the fuck did I not know about them all being in the same prison?” Tony put both fists on the table, leaning in and not caring about the chair, just choosing to stand instead. “Is everybody being locked up at Seagate now?”² He scoffed.

Steve tried to put a calming hand on his shoulder, but Tony just shrugged it away and started pacing around.

“Which one of them is involved?” Rhodey spoke up, keeping his eyes at Tony. “Please tell me it wasn’t Slattery, because if it was then this must all be a sick joke of fate.”

“Hammer.” Wanda shrugged, frowning. “Horrible mind.”

Pietro let out a disgusted noise that left them all wondering what had happened but at the same time they did not want to know.

“I couldn’t get a good reading on Trevor, though. His mind was too… crowded.” She frowned. “As if he wasn’t alone in there. I don’t know how to explain it other than that.”

“I dig some information up and as it turns out the Ten Rings sent someone to Seagate to eliminate him.”³ Natasha contributed to the story. “There was talking that the Mandarin had given the order that he should be assassinated.”

“I thought the Mandarin was just a story that Aldrich Killian had made up to make his Extremis project work.” Pepper was spit out Killian’s name.

“He’s a ghost story actually.” Fury contributed.

“And this room is full of ghost stories.” Coulson pointed out, making them know that it was indeed very possible that the Mandarin was indeed real.

“Can we focus again?” Tony snapped. “What the fuck is Hammer planning right now? Was _he_ Hydra? Man, that’s just decadent.”

“Everything suggests he wasn’t. But we did find out that there is another person behind this. Hammer isn’t that smart to make these kinds of plans. He and Stern were friends before they went to prison but there may have been some exchange of money regarding this friendship.” Coulson passed over papers to the team.

“ _Sir, I think it should come to attention that Justin Hammer has escaped Seagate Prison. They have just issued a warning to state and federal police.”_

They all started talking at the same time. Rhodey and Steve had to hold Tony back when it was clear that he was ready to get out of the room and into his suit just to be able to track Hammer down on his own. The meeting lasted another hour before the avengers decided to go back to the Tower and continue their own debriefing with Nat, Wanda and Pietro.

As the large group moved out of the room and around the building, they noticed the agents looking at them and whispering. It wasn’t unusual, they were _the_ avengers after all. But as they were getting close to the elevators, Bucky caught sight of one phone screen.

Thor and Steve had to restrain him and Wanda had to create a barrier to separate the assassin from the agent he was suddenly trying to reach.

“What the hell is going on?” Tony asked loudly, trying to get to the bottom of the problem quickly to avoid an imminent death.

“Oh fuck.” Clint had his own phone pulled out and soon after he shared the link with the group.

_@TMZ Check out LA’s celebrity lawyer Randy Walsh’s PDA with Avenger’s own Darcy Lewis! Couple seen enjoying Brooklyn! tmz.me/sdjhduw_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: [ Summertime, by Billie Holiday – 1936. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysow1wXWyvE)
> 
> ¹ The lyrics match the characters. The first one relates to Steve and the second is the ironic part that relates to Tony.  
> ² Luke Cage, ladies and gentlemen.  
> ³ Reference to the MCU one-short film _All Hail the King_.


End file.
